Reports

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Working Group has an important role, both as a forum that brings together key stakeholders involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce and training, and also as an advisory group informing work in relation to growing and supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

Australian Health Performance Framework
The Australian Health Performance Framework will provide a single, enduring and flexible vehicle to support system-wide reporting on Australia's health and health care performance, to support the assessment and evaluation of value and sustainability and to inform the identification of priorities for improvement and development.

Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and beyond
The Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy: 2019 and Beyond is an enduring strategy which seeks to achieve an enabling environment for breastfeeding through policies, baby-friendly health settings, health professional education and training, and universal and targeted breastfeeding education and support services.

Australia's National Oral Health Plan 2015-2024
The goal of Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives: Australia’s National Oral Health Plan 2015–2024 is to improve health and wellbeing across the Australian population by improving oral health status and reducing the burden of poor oral health. The Performance Monitoring Baseline Report 2017 can be foundhere.

The National Maternity Services Plan (2011) endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers highlights the challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families with regards to both access to, and acceptability of, maternity services.

Childhood Obesity

In October 2016, Health Ministers endorsed five actions to limit the impact of unhealthy food and drink on children under the following areas - health care, schools, children’s sport and recreation, food promotion, and food regulation. ANational Interim Guide to Reduce Children's Exposure to Unhealthy Food and Drink Promotion was endorsed by Health Ministers on 2 August 2018 for voluntary use by governments in their settings. The interim status of this guideline reflects the need to consider the latest available evidence from the next review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines and maintain responsiveness to community expectations around the promotion of unhealthy food and drinks to children.
To limit the impact of unhealthy food and drinks in children’s sport and recreation, a joint statement by Health Ministers and the Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers was endorsed by the COAG Health Council in September 2019. The statement indicates Government commitment to support Australian children to develop healthy habits by keeping kids active and ahead of the game.

A fundamental step towards improving health outcomes is to address the many barriers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience in accessing and receiving health care. One of these barriers is that the mainstream health system does not necessarily align with, and is not responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultures.

On 4 August 2017 COAG Health Council members endorsed the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan (Fifth Plan) and the supporting Implementation Plan. The Fifth Plan builds on the foundation established by previous national mental health plans and reform efforts and articulates a cross-jurisdictional framework for implementing national action over the next five years with targeted action across eight priority areas. The implementation plan is high level document that provides enough guidance for governments, stakeholders and the health sector to understand the implementation approach. The implementation plan also supports the work of the National Mental Health Commission in monitoring progress of the implementation of the Fifth Plan.

The National Mental Health Commission has been tasked with monitoring and reporting annually on the implementation of the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. On 12 October 2018, Health Ministers noted this inaugural progress report and approved its public release along with its performance indicators workbook.

Accompanying this Progress Report, the National Mental Health Commission has produced case studies to supplement the progress report which showcases some examples of initiatives developed by stakeholders to implement actions identified under the Fifth Plan.

Framework for the National Perinatal Depression Initiative 2008-09 to 2012-13Research indicates that each year around one in ten Australian women experience depression during pregnancy and almost one in five experience depression in the weeks and months after giving birth. If left untreated, this can have a negative impact on new mothers, their babies, families and friends, including relationship problems and difficulties bonding with children.

Healthy, Safe and Thriving: National Strategic Framework for Child and Youth Health (the Framework) identifies the key strategic priorities for child and youth health in Australia for the next ten years.

There are currently mandatory reporting obligations on registered health practitioners under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. The mandatory reporting obligations are designed to protect the public by ensuring that the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and other regulatory agencies are aware of conduct that can place the public at risk and take any necessary action to address the risk.

However, in response to concerns that the current mandatory reporting requirements for treating practitioners may be deterring practitioners from seeking assistance and treatment for their health conditions, a discussion paper has been prepared to canvas options for reform in order to provide advice to Health Ministers.

The discussion paper has been prepared in response to a decision of the COAG Health Council on 4 August 2017. NSW is managing consultation on behalf of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council.

This National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework (2016‐2023) (the Framework) is a mechanism to guide national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce policy and planning. The Framework focuses on prioritisation, target setting and monitoring of progress against growing and developing the capacity of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

The National Core Maternity Indicators (NCMIs) present information on measures of clinical activity and outcomes between 2004 and 2013. The purpose of the NCMIs is to monitor the safety and quality of maternity care to ensure that there is continual improvement in the quality of maternity services following the introduction of the National Maternity Services Plan.

Many people fear a loss of autonomy, dignity and the ability to make their preferences known when crucial health and other personal decisions are required after they have lost decision-making capacity. There is community support for self-determination, particularly in end-of-life matters, and for appointed trusted substitute decision-makers (SDM) to convey preferences when decision-making capacity is impaired. Advanced Care Directives (ACDs) provide a means for people to plan ahead for these situations.

This National Framework for Health Services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Families (the Framework) articulates a vision, principles and approaches for the delivery of child and family health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It aims to provide guidance for policy and program design, and for the development and implementation of services.

he National Framework for Maternity Services project will incorporate an evaluation of the processes that occurred in developing and implementing the National Maternity Services Plan 2010 – 2015 and the development of an enduring National Framework for Maternity Services incorporating an antenatal health risk factors strategy.

National Health Genomics Policy Framework 2018-2021
On 3 November 2017, COAG Health Council members agreed to the first National Health Genomics Policy Framework (Genomics Framework) and supplementary information. The Genomics Framework is a cross jurisdictional plan to align efforts to integrate genomics into the national health system. Genomics has the potential to contribute to early diagnosis, better targeted treatments and disease prevention. The Genomics Framework provides for better co-ordination of genomic activities across Australia which harness the benefits of genomics is an efficient, effective, ethical and equitable way, for the benefit of all Australians. The Implementation Plan - National Health Genomics Policy Framework has been developed and was approved by Health Ministers on 7 November 2018.

The purpose of the Agreement is to ensure the availability of nationally consistent high quality health information to support policy and program development, and improve the quality, efficiency, appropriateness, effectiveness and accountability of health services provided to individuals and populations.

The National Health Information Strategic Directions and Work Program (the Strategic Directions and Work Program) support the implementation and adherence by signatories to the National Health Information Agreement (NHIA) 2013. The Strategic Directions and Work Program is a live and evolving document that will be updated at least annually or as required.

TheNational Maternity Services Plan set out a five year vision for maternity care across Australia. It recognised the importance of maternity services within the health system and provided a strategic national framework to guide ongoing policy and program development from 2010 to 2015. The Plan identified four priority areas (Access, Service Delivery, Workforce and Infrastructure) to improve women’s access to maternity services and service delivery.

Annual Reports against the Plan have been published for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 periods. During the 2012-13 period progress has been positive. The four key priorities of the Plan – access, service delivery, workforce and infrastructure continue to be addressed with a number of significant achievements.

During the period 2014-15, progress has been very positive given the limited resources available to progress items under the Plan. The four key priorities of the Plan have been addressed with a number of significant achievements.

This background paper is a summary of the research and policy that underpins Australia’s

national framework for recovery-oriented mental health services.

National Palliative Care Strategy 2018
The National Palliative Care Strategy represents the commitment of the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to ensuring the highest possible level of palliative care is available to all people. It builds on previous strategies and on a legacy of investment into research, education and training, workforce and service development, and community awareness and engagement. The Strategy was endorsed by Health Ministers in December 2018.
A Word version can be found here.

The National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions, endorsed by all Health Ministers, moves away from a disease specific approach and recognises that there are often similar underlying principles for the prevention and management of many chronic conditions. It better caters for shared health determinants, risk factors and multimorbidities across a broad range of chronic conditions. It provides high level guidance for the development of policies, strategies, actions and services to work towards delivery of a more effective and coordinated Australia-wide response to chronic conditions and their risk factors.

This document comprises the final report for the National Survey of Access to Public Antenatal Care Services 2012 (the survey) project undertaken for the Victorian Department of Health acting under the auspice of the Maternity Services Inter-Jurisdictional Committee.

There is considerable scope to improve women’s access to a midwife for postnatal care outside of the hospital setting. Suggested strategies include increasing the proportion of women participating in continuity of midwifery models of maternity care, exploring opportunities for support using telecommunications (especially for rural and remote settings) and raising awareness of the lack of midwifery care post discharge offered by private facilities.

The purpose of this policy framework is to provide an overview of the elements that are needed to successfully deliver newborn bloodspot screening in Australia. The policy framework outlines high-level policies and recommended steps that support high-quality and family-focused newborn bloodpost screening. The intended audience for the policy framwork is anyone involved in, or affected by, newborn bloodspot screening. This includes clinicians, families, midwives, nurses, policy makers, program managers and scientists.

In 2010 the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council requested advice on whether to include paramedics as a profession in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) for health professions. Alongside a number of other options, this Decision Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) examines the option of including paramedics in the NRAS.

In November 2010 Health Ministers agreed to conduct a national consultation on options for strengthening the regulation of unregistered health practitioners. The majority of unregistered health practitioners practise in a safe, competent and ethical manner. However, there are instances where practitioners engage in conduct that may be so serious that, if the practitioner had been registered, would have resulted in cancellation of their registration and removal of their right to practise.

In 2016, the framework was updated to incorporate new and emerging issues by the Standing Committee on Screening (SCoS) of the Community Care and Population Health Principal Committee (CCPHPC), of AHMAC. The purpose of the framework is to inform decision makers on the key issues to be considered when assessing potential screening programs in Australia.

To govern the Commonwealth Department of Health release of non-identifiable Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Aged Care Data to Australian States and Territories.

The Reducing Adverse Medication Events in Mental Health National Survey Report provides results of a survey that was undertaken across Australia in 2016 investigating the extent to which medication safety practices were implemented in mental health units. In total, 235 units were approached to participate, with 106 responses available for analysis. Responses were received from units in every State and Territory. Responses included units in metropolitan, regional and rural areas, public and private health systems, units varying from small to large bed numbers and units across the spectrum of care from paediatric – adolescent services, adult services, older adult services and forensic services. The survey assessed the degree of implementation of medication safety practices from no activity, through to partial implementation to full implementation throughout the unit. A summary of the recommended interventions, the strength of evidence supporting the interventions and resources supporting implementation is also provided.

To provide consolidated intern recruitment information from the different states and territories, the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) asked the Health Workforce Principal Committee (HWPC) to oversee the intern data collection and audit process for intern recruitment. HWPC established the National Medical Intern Data Management Working Group (working group), as a subcommittee of HWPC, to oversee the data collection and audit process. The Working Group provided oversight to the audit process for 2014 intern recruitment and again undertook this function for 2015 intern recruitment.

To provide consolidated intern recruitment information from the different states and territories, the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) asked the Health Workforce Principal Committee (HWPC) to oversee the intern data collection and audit process for intern recruitment. HWPC established the National Medical Intern Data Management Working Group (Working group), as a subcommittee of HWPC, to oversee the data collection and audit process. The Working Group provided oversight to the audit process for 2014, 2015 intern recruitment and again undertook this function for 2016 intern recruitment.

To provide consolidated intern recruitment information from the different states and territories, the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) asked the Health Workforce Principal Committee (HWPC) to oversee the intern data collection and audit process for intern recruitment. HWPC established the National Medical Intern Data Management Working Group (NMIDMWG), as a subcommittee of HWPC, to oversee the data collection and audit process. The Working Group provided oversight to the audit process for 2014, 2015, 2016 intern recruitment and again undertook this function for 2017 intern recruitment.

Scheduled medicines Guidance for unregistered health professionals
The Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council has issued Guidance: A joint jurisdictional assessment process for proposals for nationally consistent scheduled medicines authorities for the unregistered health professions. (the Guidance). The purpose of the Guidance is to assist health professions that are not required to be registered under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) who are seeking nationally consistent scheduled medicines authorities. The Guidance sets out how state, territory and Commonwealth governments will jointly consider proposals for nationally consistent authorities in relation to scheduled medicines by these health professions. It also sets out the process to be followed by any unregistered health profession seeking consideration of a relevant proposal.
The Guidance for unregistered health professions is complemented by Guidance for National Boards: Applications to the Ministerial Council for approval of endorsements in relation to scheduled medicines under section 14 of the National Law (Guidance for National Boards): The Guidance for National Boards aims to promote nationally consistent evaluation of proposals for endorsements relating to scheduled medicines made by health professions that are registered under NRAS.
It is not intended that this joint jurisdictional assessment process will replace any local legislation by individual states and territories to issue new or amended scheduled medicines authorities applicable only within their respective jurisdictions.

The final National Elective Surgery Urgency Categorisation Guideline was endorsed by AHMAC earlier this year. The national guideline, covers 11 surgical specialties, with 170 surgical procedures listed in total. The aim of the guideline is to improve consistency of urgency prioritisation by providing a point of reference for clinicians, but also allows for clinician determined variation, based on individual clinical circumstances of each patient. The introductory chapter of the guideline outlines the guiding principles including that the national guideline is to be used in conjunction with relevant state and territory policies. Each state and territory has put in place an implementation plan, which includes key steps that each jurisdiction intends to take to implement the guideline.

The Hospitals Principal Committee, would like to thank state and territory representatives on the National Steering Committee for their valuable contribution and input into this important project. Jurisdictional ownership and support has been critical to the development of the guideline, which it is hoped will facilitate improvements in elective surgery access and performance across the nation.